Black Adam's Pierce Brosnan Wanted Dr. Fate's Helmet Changed From Looking Like A 'Golden Bag'

DC Films' latest venture, "Black Adam," is a tent-pole blockbuster that stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the titular character, and he is very much an anti-hero who has to come to terms with his new position in the world. Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centino, and Quintessa Swindell co-star as members of the Justice Society of America, with Dr. Fate (Brosnan) acting as a voice of reason due to his clairvoyance. The JSA is initially tasked with controlling Black Adam, but they soon find themselves working together.

In an interview with the AV Club, Brosnan spoke about how he has familiarity with both the characters of Black Adam and Doctor Fate because his kids are big fans of the comics. He then said how he was told that he would be perfect for the role and that he was honored to be a part of "Black Adam." He also stated, "The making of the movie was relatively easy and kind of casual and there was a big responsibility there, but the cast was so welcoming. And the character, Dr. Fate and I seemed to fit. We seemed to meet at the right time in life. And the look of the character, the costume by Bart and Kurt, was just magnificent." 

However, despite Brosnan's kind words regarding his costume, it sounds like he actually did have at least one modification request.

Pierce Brosnan is probably most famous for donning a tux to play James Bond in a string of movies including "GoldenEye" and "Tomorrow Never Dies." However, in "Black Adam," he plays Kent Nelson (and his superhero persona Doctor Fate), a powerful sorcerer with a striking blue and yellow color scheme. He also possesses a magical item known as the Helmet of Fate, which grants Nelson access to fantastic powers that allow him to stand up against some truly cataclysmic foes.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Brosnan was asked about his costume and helmet, and he replied, "It was mostly CGI, yeah. There were two helmets. There was this exquisite helmet, which he carries all the time and that's by his side. The aesthetics of that were so beautiful. Jaume asked for my input into what the helmet should look like." And as Brosnan would go on to say, he wasn't shy about giving his own opinions on his character's headwear.

"I said it should look sleek and elegant," Brosnan explained. "He showed me photographs of the [original design], and it looked like some kind of golden bag or something. It just didn't make sense. It was just totally inarticulate." In other words, it seems like Brosnan actually influenced the way Doctor Fate's helmet looked because he didn't like the original design. This makes sense, considering that Doctor Fate's choice of headgear is one of the defining aspects of the character.

As mentioned earlier, Doctor Fate is a classic character in DC Comics' retinue of superheroes. According to DC, Doctor Fate's first appearance was in 1940, and he is one of the founding members of the Justice Society, which is a precursor to the Justice League. The mechanism by which Kent Nelson transforms into Doctor Fate is donning the Helmet of Fate. Although Kent Nelson possesses powers of his own, per the DC Database, when he wears the Helmet of Fate, he gains access to a whole host of enhancements. In the comics, the magical headwear is just one of a set of mystical items created by the Lord of Order Nabu, an intergalactic being who has been meddling in the affairs of humans for thousands of years.

Luckily for the movie, Pierce Brosnan appears to have had good instincts when it came to translating this crucial aspect of his character from comics to the big screen. However, for as useful as the Helmet of Fate is to Kent Nelson, it sounds like for Brosnan, it was a  bit limiting. In that same interview with Entertainment Weekly, Brosnan added, "So there was that helmet, and then there was one that I actually physically put on my head. But as soon as you put it on your head, you can't see a darn thing. It's just darkness." Hey, at least it's not a golden bag!